... narratives from a textile artist's life where specific ideas or techniques have their origins from personal experiences, collections or teaching. I have many areas of interest - usually arts & crafts related.

Originally printed in 1961, many of the suggested patterns/designs feature unusual seam lines as well as interesting shapes. Although the 'basic principles' can be rather lengthy to follow and/or complete, they do result in patterns that produce a good fit for specific sizes.2 other books have also been written by the author - More Dress Pattern Designing and Dress Fitting. The latter book is extremely useful for gaining a wide range of knowledge regarding garment fitting for a wide range of body shapes with and without body imperfections. The 3 books work well together to provide a very useful 'working' insight into pattern designing, pattern shapes and their ultimate fit. Well recommended reading material!More recently published are other books I use for reference - these being written by Winifred Aldrich. The first in a series is 'Metric Pattern Cutting' (originally printed in 1976) & it has been reprinted several times together with updates. It includes a wide range of pattern cutting designs and styles but is generally more 'modern' than the above books by Natalie Bray. Additionally, I found instructions easier to follow, shapes quicker to produce as there are less measurements required to make the patterns. A varied range of fitting techniques are also included.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Sewing has been a popular hobby in days gone past - especially home dressmaking. From the beginning of the 20th century, after sewing machines began appearing in every high street, patterns for making clothes steadily increased in popularity. After WWII and right up to the 1970s, they were available in almost every high street department store as well as retail fabric and haberdashery shop. It was fun to sew and be able to wear (and make) something quite unique!

BUT as everyone could afford to buy their own clothes it became 'unfashionable' to make your own and with many having less free-time, it was not as popular. Consequently, over the years sewing patterns have become less readily available, their ranges declined and many companies have disappeared altogether amalgamated.

I have always had a hobby of dressmaking and using sewing patterns and so I have a general collection spanning from appx. 1910s to date. Mostly purchased within the UK, there are a cross-section of designs and sizes for children and adult garments as well as patterns for varied textile items that include soft furnishings, toys and accessories. The patterns have been produced by many different companies - mainly those readily available at the time. These include leading makes, such as:

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

During the 1960/70s, there was a variety of manufacturers who produced dressmaking patterns. Some of the main 'fashionable' ones were: Vogue, Butterick, McCall's, Simplicity, Style and LeRoy although there were others not quite as popular. These main ones had a range of dressmaking patterns available from the latest ‘young designers’ of the time so that you could sew your own ‘original designer' garment at a fraction of the cost and in a fabric or colour of your own choice.

BUTTERICK 6979 - c.1970sThis one was designed by Betsy Johnson at 'Alley Cat' - a fashionable boutique of the period.

STYLE 3349 - c. 1960sAnother pattern - although not designed by a recognised or named designer, it featured garments that were almost identical to those from the BIBA range of clothes.